Canadian pop musician Jacob Hoggard is set to stand trial this week on charges of sexual assault causing bodily harm and sexual interference involving a woman and a teenage girl.
Jury selection is expected to begin in a downtown Toronto courtroom Monday.
Hoggard, 37, who is the lead singer for the band Hedley, was charged in 2018 and has had his trial delayed due to the suspension of jury trials in Toronto for much of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The allegations involving both complainants date back to 2016 in Toronto. Their identities are under a publication ban that is available for complainants in sexual assault cases.
The charge of sexual interference — which refers to any touching of a minor in a sexual manner — allegedly took place in April 2016 when the teen girl was under the age of 16.
Hoggard is charged with sexually assaulting the same girl in September 2016 and with sexually assaulting a woman in November 2016.
Hedley was formed in the 2000s in British Columbia and toured frequently across the country until they went on hiatus in 2018.
Hoggard pleaded not guilty to the charges at his preliminary inquiry in 2019.
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